Within business practice, the concept of pop-up retailing has already grown out its status of just being a trend, and has developed into a highly accepted and widely used retail format in a variety of business sectors.

Despites this rising popularity, academic research has given rather little attention towards the phenomenon of temporary retail sites. Due to this research scarcity, the purpose of this thesis is to provide new insights for understanding contemporary consumption and retail space from a socio-cultural perspective. While focusing on pop-up sale events, this study explores a sub- category of pop-up retailing which has been mainly neglected within the current literature. In doing so, it aims to enhance our knowledge of how... (More)

Within business practice, the concept of pop-up retailing has already grown out its status of just being a trend, and has developed into a highly accepted and widely used retail format in a variety of business sectors.

Despites this rising popularity, academic research has given rather little attention towards the phenomenon of temporary retail sites. Due to this research scarcity, the purpose of this thesis is to provide new insights for understanding contemporary consumption and retail space from a socio-cultural perspective. While focusing on pop-up sale events, this study explores a sub- category of pop-up retailing which has been mainly neglected within the current literature. In doing so, it aims to enhance our knowledge of how the temporary retail space as a whole, including the distinct characteristics of pop-up sales, shapes and influences consumer practices, and along with that, shoppers’ in-store experiences.

This study is grounded on the alignment of existing literature in the field of socio-cultural retailing and the theoretical framework builds upon previous studies anchored in Consumer Culture Theory, discussing the multifaceted dynamics of consumer experiences and their relation to retail space.

Given the exploratory purpose, the study uses ethnographic methodologies that make it possible to understand the retail phenomenon as a whole, by allowing the researcher to immerse in the field, and to holistically experience and capture the events of the retail site. The empirical data collection for the present multi-side study is based on extensive in-store observations supported by pictures of the retail settings and the actors in the field, informal chats directly at the retail site, and ethnographic consumer interviews.

The analysis provides dense portrayals of the retailscapes and presents pop-up sales as highly functional, modest and unstructured spaces that align elements of different alternative retail spaces. Further, the engaging qualities of these retail environments are found to enable practices and sentiments that have been already acknowledged in context of alternative space. Additionally the spacial conditions further facilitate consumption experiences that researchers have found to be interconnected with outstanding, well planned and spectacular retail spaces. Thus, this thesis presents pop-up sales as hybrid spaces that merge alternative retail space and so-called retail spectacle. These spaces do not enable spectacular experiences despites their modest organization, but especially because of their distinct features. Finally, it is argued that pop-up sales as hybrid and instable retail spaces represent an example for ‘liquid retail’ and marketplace transformation, and reflect a development which is pointed out as a result of recent societal changes. (Less)

@misc{8882662,
abstract = {Within business practice, the concept of pop-up retailing has already grown out its status of just being a trend, and has developed into a highly accepted and widely used retail format in a variety of business sectors.
Despites this rising popularity, academic research has given rather little attention towards the phenomenon of temporary retail sites. Due to this research scarcity, the purpose of this thesis is to provide new insights for understanding contemporary consumption and retail space from a socio-cultural perspective. While focusing on pop-up sale events, this study explores a sub- category of pop-up retailing which has been mainly neglected within the current literature. In doing so, it aims to enhance our knowledge of how the temporary retail space as a whole, including the distinct characteristics of pop-up sales, shapes and influences consumer practices, and along with that, shoppers’ in-store experiences.
This study is grounded on the alignment of existing literature in the field of socio-cultural retailing and the theoretical framework builds upon previous studies anchored in Consumer Culture Theory, discussing the multifaceted dynamics of consumer experiences and their relation to retail space.
Given the exploratory purpose, the study uses ethnographic methodologies that make it possible to understand the retail phenomenon as a whole, by allowing the researcher to immerse in the field, and to holistically experience and capture the events of the retail site. The empirical data collection for the present multi-side study is based on extensive in-store observations supported by pictures of the retail settings and the actors in the field, informal chats directly at the retail site, and ethnographic consumer interviews.
The analysis provides dense portrayals of the retailscapes and presents pop-up sales as highly functional, modest and unstructured spaces that align elements of different alternative retail spaces. Further, the engaging qualities of these retail environments are found to enable practices and sentiments that have been already acknowledged in context of alternative space. Additionally the spacial conditions further facilitate consumption experiences that researchers have found to be interconnected with outstanding, well planned and spectacular retail spaces. Thus, this thesis presents pop-up sales as hybrid spaces that merge alternative retail space and so-called retail spectacle. These spaces do not enable spectacular experiences despites their modest organization, but especially because of their distinct features. Finally, it is argued that pop-up sales as hybrid and instable retail spaces represent an example for ‘liquid retail’ and marketplace transformation, and reflect a development which is pointed out as a result of recent societal changes.},
author = {Spitzkat, Anna},
keyword = {Pop-Up Stores,Pop-Up Sales,Retail Trends,Liquid Retail,Fashion Retailing,Socio-Cultural Retailing,Consumer Culture Theory,Retail Space,Alternative Space,Retail Spectacle,Consumer Experiences},
language = {eng},
note = {Student Paper},
title = {Here Today, Gone Tomorrow - Consumer Experiences at Fashion Pop-Up Sales},
year = {2016},
}